The Damned Trilogy

by Alan Dean Foster

  “Humankind is the key to everything. Not only are they the Weave’s most effective fighters, they are also the only species capable of resisting our most heartfelt suggestions. They came raging out of the far reaches on behalf of the Weave and we did not have sufficient time to diagnose how to deal with them. If we can acquire that time, I believe that the means to undo them and the danger they represent can eventually be found.”

  “And you propose to procure this time by surrendering to them.” The opposing horny plates of Nigh-cold-Singing’s mouth ground together as they nibbled on a nearby plant. “Do you think that peace will weaken the victors? They will remain powerful, while we will have disarmed. Or perhaps you believe we should have long conversations with them and try to convince them of the error of their ways?”

  “Not long conversations, no.” Glean-blue-Saying was unintentionally cryptic. “I have studied what we know of Humankind. They have devoted themselves utterly to the war, putting aside their attempts at art, at urban enhancement, at everything except turning out fighters for the Weave. They have geared their existence to defeating us, to preparing for a great, climactic battle at the conclusion of which they can celebrate in triumph.” The Amplitur could comprehend such a notion only in the abstract. To them each victory was also a loss, for it meant the death of many intelligent beings who might otherwise have been brought into the Purpose.

  “By surrendering we will deny them that triumph. They will experience not exaltation but frustration.”

  “They will have won the war,” said Red-sky-Thinkng. “How is that not a triumph?”

  “They will not have won. The war will simply have ended. To understand the difference you must first understand the workings of that near-impenetrable organ, the Human mind. They will not have defeated us; we will have given up. To Humans there is a measurable difference. A difference which will pain them. You will see. They will realize but temporary gratification from our capitulation.” The tips of both tentacles flexed emphatically.

  “If they are indeed heir to this frustration you denote,” wondered Sand-sits-Green, “might they not take it out on us, by attacking the homeworlds anyway?”

  “There is some small risk of that,” Glean-blue-Saying admitted, “but I think not. Their ability to act should be sufficiently circumscribed by their Weave allies, who traditionally control combat logistics. Without enthusiastic support on the part of other species there is little that companies of Humans can do on their own. If the Weave accepts our surrender, all combatants should be removed to their respective worlds. Humans may protest, but they do not control the transports. Not in sufficient volume to cause us any serious concern. Their own commands are too tightly interwoven with those of the Massood and others to act in dangerous independence.”

  “This unseemly notion of yours may preserve the home-worlds,” agreed Red-sky-Thinking, “but I fail to see how it ameliorates the Purpose.”

  “The Humans will react as do individuals of all species which reproduce by sexual means when confronted with an anticipated but unconsummated union, except that in the case of Humans this frustration results in unimaginably heightened aggression. Individuals trained for battle from childhood will soon seek other outlets for their store of pent-up emotion.”

  “With an end to the war they will have no outlet,” said Red-sky-Thinking. “You admit yourself that the rest of the Weave will see to that.”

  “There is an exception the Weave cannot and will not try to control. There will still remain to Humans the original outlet for their frustrations and aggression.”

  “You mean they will seek someone else besides us and our allies to fight?” wondered Bulk-holds-Tree. “They will attack the Hivistahm, perhaps, or even the Massood?”

  “No. I fear that even though they have never been offered formal Weave membership, Humankind has been a part of Weave society too long for that to take place. When I state that I believe Humans will return to the original outlet for their aggression, I mean that in its absolute sense. Having no other species to fight, I think they will once again turn upon themselves.”

  Excited thoughts crowded the chamber. “Surely their association with the civilized races of the Weave has matured them beyond that,” said Takes-short-Thinking.

  “I do not think so. The first Human the Weave contacted would not have thought so. Recall my original tenet: that only Humans can defeat Humans. By removing ourselves as a threat to them, we force them to change the focus of their hormones. I believe strongly that they are still far from fully civilized, and that left alone without anyone else to contest, they will turn back upon themselves. Their history shows that when not confronted by a perceived external enemy, they are forced to seek dominance within and among their own kind.”

  “Would not the members of the Weave, seeing what was taking place, seek to intervene?” wondered Places-change-Distant.

  “Intervene betwixt fighting Humans? I doubt it. Among them only the Massood might have an impact, and I do not see the Massood stepping in of their own volition. They will return to their own worlds and resume a peaceful way of life. Remember: Humans fight because they enjoy it, the Massood because they are compelled to.

  “The Weave will shun any such conflict lest such internecine Human fighting spread to their own worlds. Eventually the Humans will weaken themselves to the point where they are no longer a threat to our goals. It may take some time, but we have always been patient. We have waited thousands of years. The Purpose will not perish: it will simply rest.

  “Our surrender will be an honest one. We will give up our weapons systems. We will retire to the sacred twin worlds. And here we will bide our time. We will not urge the Purpose on the Mazvec, the Copavi, the Korath, and the Vandir, as we have in the past. But that does not mean we cannot move among them and retain their friendship. We can always use the excuse that we are afraid of the Humans. The members of the Weave will understand that.

  “We will admit defeat in this war. Concerning future wars we need say nothing.”

  Contemplative silence lay over the chamber as the Council members caucused. The proposal was beyond radical, not to mention risky in the extreme. Most obviously, what if Glean-blue-Saying was wrong? What if in spite of Weave restraints the outraged, cheated Humans mustered enough vessels to mount an attack? Even in small numbers they could wreak intense damage to the twin worlds.

  If, however, the assumptions of Glean-blue-Saying were correct, and Humans resumed fighting among themselves, the future, albeit a distant future, was much brightened. Given a chance to confront a Weave devoid of Humans, the members of the Council knew that the Purpose could not fail.

  Perilous, they thought. Perilous in the extreme. Yet the considered alternatives were hardly promising.

  “We could, in taking this course of action, concede everything.” Glean-blue-Saying regarded his colleagues. “Conversely, our offspring’s offspring could gain the galaxy. Alternatively, we can try to smash the force the Weave is gathering to send against us. Does anyone present believe we have a realistic chance of doing that?”

  Idle thoughts filled the ensuing silence. Somewhere someone munched on a leaf. “I thought not,” said Glean-blue-Saying. “Believe me, if anyone were to posit a better way, I would gladly subscribe to it myself. As for me, I can think of nothing else.

  “Treated properly, Humankind will eventually prove not the undoing of the Purpose, but its salvation.”

  Places-change-Distant proposed quietly, “What if the Humans do not start fighting among themselves, but simply put down their arms and begin to comport themselves in a civilized manner?”

  “That is a chance we take. Of course, being thoroughly pacified, none should raise objection if we choose to counsel with them; to offer a thought here, a notion there. Their history indicates that they will slaughter and kill on the least pretext, over the most ephemeral perceived slight. At one time they nearly turned primitive weapons of mass destruction on themselves, on their own homewo
rld.”

  Astonishment and disbelief at this revelation arose from those on the Council who were not so well versed in Human history.

  “It is a true thing,” Glean-blue-Saying reiterated.

  “Lastly, I ask you to consider that this plan is fully in keeping with all Purposeful tenets. By surrendering we will preserve thousands of lives or those of their offspring for possible future integration into the Purpose.”

  There was no need for a verbal vote. Agreement was universal and unspoken. Glean-blue-Saying experienced much internal satisfaction.

  When it was over, speculation flowed as freely as before.

  “How long do you think it will take for internecine fighting among the Humans to weaken them severely?” Sand-sits-Green wondered.

  “I do not know. Their history provides no adequate stonemarks for speculation. As representatives of the humbly defeated we will naturally do our best to encourage them in the mutual suspicions which will flower subsequent to the outbreak of peace.”

  “You do not think they will be leery of such activities on our part?”

  “Perhaps. We must proceed carefully. But there is much in our favor. Humans are both credulous and arrogant, a potentially suicidal combination which we will exploit to the utmost. It may be that with a few considered and well-placed words and phrases we may do more to defeat them man ever we did with energy beams and explosives.”

  “This is good.” Takes-short-Thinking was finally convinced. “It will mean an end to fighting, an end to the wasteful demise of intelligences. The peace will resonate within the Purpose. We shall fight on without weapons.

  “Meanwhile we will continue to study as well as prod the Humans. We will learn and remember. It may be that some among the Amplitur will discover chemical or neurological means that may be eventually used to defeat them utterly.”

  “I will inform the military.” Places-change-Distant was appropriately grave. “We will prepare to announce the surrender.”

  “Not yet,” Glean-blue-Saying gently reminded his colleagues. “To achieve the greatest benefit we must wait until the last moment. Let them assemble their forces. Let them plunge through Underspace in imagined secrecy. Only when they are actually in orbit about the twin worlds do we capitulate.”

  In the end, many of the Council members were surprised only in that they had not thought of such a solution themselves. The placid brilliance of it led each and every one of them to rededicate itself anew to the ultimate clarity of the Purpose.

  XIV

  On all the worlds of the Weave preparations were concluded, preparations that had been ongoing for some time. The vast net of troops and weapons, ships and supplies, was being drawn tight. It was a moment none among the select few who knew the ultimate objective of all the preparation had thought would come in their lifetime.

  Though the ultimate goal remained secret to all but the uppermost ranks, it was clear even to the lowliest Lepar that something major was in the works. Too many ships and too great a volume of supplies were being sent to the same few assembly points: little-known, lightly populated worlds situated far from any ongoing conflict. A prodigious effort of logistics was under way.

  As they gathered and waited, the thousands of soldiers speculated among themselves, wondering at the great mass of vessels and supplies drifting in organized orbit above them, waiting for assignment to Underspace transport. Massood came, with Hivistahm and O’o’yan technical support. The S’van were there, rendering a host of inconspicuously critical decisions.

  And the Humans, of course. The most famous units, filled with veterans of many successful campaigns. Not even their officers could answer the continual queries of their curious troops except to say that they had been promised that all would soon be revealed to soldier and superior alike.

  The movement of so great a force could not be kept a secret, but expensive probings bought a curious media few hard facts. One thing no one could hide: The level of excitement and tension among the Human participants was building to an explosive pitch.

  It was a uniquely primate phenomenon. To the Massood and the rest such preparations were no cause for excitement. They did not look forward to combat as Humans did. They assembled and waited quietly, marveling at the amount of energy their Human counterparts expended in anticipation.

  One or two remarked on the absence of any Turlog in the burgeoning battle force. This apparent oversight remained a curiosity, but not an obsessive one.

  Throughout the buildup Colonel Nevan Straat-ien stayed in touch with other Core members, monitoring developments and sharing information until he, too, was assigned to a ship orbiting an outpost world whose lengthy name he did not recognize. Observing and analyzing, the historian Lalelelang traveled in his company together with her voluminous store of notes and recordings. When they had time they would discuss her theories and, not infrequently now, matters of wholly personal interest.

  When word of the great battle group’s eventual target became official at Straat-ien’s level, as it inevitably had to, they still found it as difficult to accept as did those who had been living in ignorance of the possibility all along.

  “The Amplitur homeworlds.” Lalelelang bobbed elegantly by way of emphasis. “Through you I knew they had been located, but I had no idea that the war had progressed so far.”

  “No one did.”

  Straat-ien regarded her approvingly. As near as he could tell she had been true to her word. Nothing of what she had learned of him and his relations had been communicated elsewhere, not even in the form of sealed storage.

  What now of her theories? he found himself wondering. Suppositions that both of them expected to find a harmless place buried deep in volumes of research now looked to be put to the actual test. Or were they getting ahead of themselves? he wondered. Just because an assault had been planned on the Amplitur homeworlds didn’t mean it was going to succeed, didn’t mean that the end of the Great War was imminent. All it meant for certain was that a lot of warriors on both sides were about to embrace oblivion.

  “When?” he heard her asking.

  “That I haven’t been told yet. Have you stood on the uppermost observation platform late at night and looked up at the sky? There’s a ring around this planet. It looks like it might’ve been there for a billion years, but it’s recent and artificial. Nothing but transports being loaded and positioned for Underspace insertion, with new ones arriving and departing all the time. I’ve seen a lot of attack groups in my time, but nothing like this. There are hundreds of ships up there, and other fleets being assembled off other worlds. It’s the greatest logistical push the Weave has ever mounted.

  “There’s plenty of room in Underspace, but coordinating the emergence so two or three ships don’t materialize in the same place is going to take some unprecedented preplanning. I’m glad I’m just a soldier.”

  “To anyone but a Human, Nevan, that would be a contradiction in terms.” Both of them were quiet then, contemplating future possibilities that had unexpectedly and abruptly been brought forward by several hundred years.

  The relentless preparations continued, as did fighting elsewhere. Despite the care taken to conceal the ultimate objective of the gathering fleets, it was doubted by those trained to ponder such matters that the Amplitur would be taken by surprise. They had always maintained an effective intelligence operation inside the Weave, and preparations on such a scale would inevitably draw more than the usual attention from their operatives.

  Due to the diversion of so much Weave war material the enemy managed several small victories elsewhere, but if anything it was decided that this would make them even more wary. Still, the Weave High Command had hopes of achieving at least a modicum of surprise. If nothing else, the enemy would not know which of the twin worlds was to be struck first and would have to divide its defenses accordingly.

  At the very least, if the Amplitur succeeded in staving off the attack, the use of forces drawn from elsewhere to defend their homeworlds
should allow the Weave to roll up substantial triumphs in weakened systems. Weave tacticians were confident of the efficacy of their strategy even if they remained unsure of the actual outcome’s direction. Victory there would be: it was just that no one could predict where it would occur.

  Along with hundreds of other officers, Straat-ien eventually received formal orders. The only Wais in a battle group of human soldiers, Lalelelang enthusiastically continued her work, recording and analyzing the troop buildup and departure. So familiar a sight had she become to the milling troops that they no longer remarked on her presence and she was able to move among them with greater freedom and ease than ever before.

  From Vecilan, from Nojong III, from Aulebebunda and Didone and a dozen other minor worlds the grand fleets departed. Preparations continued in Underspace right up until the moment of emergence. Little was known of the surface features of the Amplitur homeworlds, but no one doubted that they would conform to the norm for populated, civilized planets: a single extensive landmass surrounded by oceans, with a few scattered islands dotting the continental shelf. Only Earth deviated from that pattern. Ail and Eil were not expected to provide any such surprises.

  Depending on the degree of surprise the Weave would be able to achieve, the Amplitur defenses would react accordingly. Yet despite arduous preparations, no one on any of the attacking Command ships was prepared for that which greeted them subsequent to their actual emergence from Underspace.

  It took the form of a general communication that was repeated endlessly, in a dozen major Weave languages. It rose from both Amplitur homeworlds and effectively offset every variation in the elaborate plan of attack.

  Naturally it was at first thought to be a trick, an outrageous subterfuge designed to buy the defenders time to mobilize and focus their defenses. Several commanders were all for ignoring the broadcast and proceeding with operations as planned. But the intensity of the presentation, the lack of flux by defensive orbital weaponry, and the concomitant communications from Mazvec, Crigolit, and other non-Amplitur forces in the vicinity only reinforced the original message.